Pendelton Manor (11 page)

Sophie couldn’t help but feel guilty about letting Adrian’s suspicions rub off on her and make her doubt Adam’s intentions and when she went into the upstairs storage closet the next day and found a new vacuum cleaner with a note simply stating, ‘for upstairs use’, she felt even more guilty. Surely someone who could be so thoughtful couldn’t be as deceitful as Adrian suspects? She would have apologized the next morning when she went downstairs, but seeing Adrian in the kitchen with Adam threw her for a loop. She hadn’t seen him since the other night and was unsure how he would react after her behavior.

“Good morning, Sophie,” Adrian greeted her, trying to hide his amusement at her discomfort. He had purposely avoided her yesterday in order to give her some time to deal with what he suspected was uncharacteristic behavior for her, and him time to try to forget their encounter as easily as he did the ones he had with Rachel and Nora. Unfortunately, it looked like she hadn’t been any more successful at that than he was.

“Good morning.” Sophie took her cue from him and acted like it was no big deal to go to his room, go down on him then end up bare assed over his lap for what turned out to be, for her, a highly erotic new experience.

“There you are,” Adrian said softly as Sammy sidled over to him and leaped onto his lap. He scratched the cat behind her ears as he looked back at Sophie. “Does she stay in your room with you all night?”

“And in my bed.” Shrugging as if it didn’t matter to her when she really found herself enjoying the feel of that small furry body against her at night, her soft purrs lulling her to sleep, she walked over to pour a cup of coffee before adding, “I leave my door cracked open so she can come and go, but she’s always there when I wake up.”

“You always used to complain about that cat getting between you and Nicole at the wrong moment,” Adam said, grinning. “Apparently, she considered the bed her territory and not their playground,” he told Sophie, his smile and warm look telling her there were no hard feelings from yesterday.

Wanting to change the subject and clear the air, Sophie replied, “Thank you for the vacuum, Adam. That was really thoughtful of you. Can I return the favor by fixing your favorite dish tonight?”

Adrian raised a dark brow at both of them, not knowing what they were talking about, which seemed to be rubbing him the wrong way and put a damper on his semi good mood. Shooing Sammy off his lap, he stood and irritably brushed the cat hair off his dark slacks. “If you’re ready, Adam, I need to get to the office. If you’d rather sit here and talk menus, I’ll see you there.”

Sophie wasn’t concerned about his surly attitude. She was learning more about her new boss by simply watching how he interacted with everyone, and she had noticed that when something threatened his tightly withheld emotions, his attitude took a nosedive.

“Well, well,” Adam murmured with a speculative look in his eyes as he watched Adrian’s stiff exit. “It seems like big cousin might be coming out of his shell. Thanks for the offer, Sophie, but I’ll eat anything. However, I’m partial to chocolate cake, if you have the time. See you tonight.”

Baking wasn’t her strong suit, but the Tremaines cook did teach her a good recipe for chocolate chocolate chip cookies that she thought might be a welcome substitute for the cake. Putting thoughts of both men aside, she quickly fed the cat and got to work.

By the end of her second week at the manor, Sophie had settled into a routine and the house was finally caught up to where it would be easier to maintain. She intended to start adding some deep cleaning and make some decorative suggestions to Adrian that would make the mansion look more like a home than a cold, brooding house.

Sophie was thinking of those suggestions and wondering if Adrian was going to be there tonight for pizza night, just as she wondered how far she wanted to go with the others if she decided to join them afterward. But when she saw him come in with the pizzas and she knew he would be joining them, her body had its usual reaction, making the decision for her. Her nipples beaded into tight peaks and her pussy dampened at just the thought of being with him again, of experiencing an orgasm so intense, it emptied her mind of everything but the pleasure consuming her.

Logically, she knew if she got physically involved with anyone in this house, then it should be Ash. Since Nora seemed to have strong feelings for Adam and Rachel for James, Ash, the carefree, footloose one among them would be the best choice since neither of them wanted any emotional involvement. But for some reason, when she thought of crossing that line from watching to fully participating, she automatically thought of Adrian. She didn’t seem to be able to picture herself fucking anyone but him, or, at least not anyone else without him.

“Going to join us?” Adrian asked, wondering what he’d do if she said yes. Sophie hadn’t joined them for dinner in the evenings, even though he had made the offer, so he wasn’t sure if she’d be down tonight or not. Deciding he needed to replace the memory of her mouth wrapped around his cock and the feel of her warm, soft ass under his hands that refused to be delegated off to the side with the rest of his sexual encounters, he had decided to join the girls and Adam and Ash tonight. James was caught up in working on a large landscaping job and would join them later, which meant they could be going at it for quite a while tonight. For some reason, he thought watching her fuck one or both of his cousins was only going to add to memories that wouldn’t let him alone and would be more threatening to his resolve to focus on finding Nicole’s lover than if he fucked her.

“Yes, that is if you don’t mind,” she responded, unable as usual to read his expression.

“I told you you’re free to join us for meals, and other activities, whenever you wish.” But he knew if she followed the others into whatever room they decided to play in, he was going to bow out. He didn’t need any more memories of how she looked when she came, either with him or with others, deterring him from his goal of finding out who was responsible for Nicole’s death.

Sophie followed Adrian into the kitchen where she heard the others talking and laughing and wondered why his indifferent attitude about her joining in bothered her. She was beginning to worry her desire to help ease some of the sorrow and guilt he carried with him was going to backfire on her and end up leaving her with more heartache to deal with.

Chapter Six

Sophie enjoyed the camaraderie at dinner very much and marveled at how they could all bicker like siblings then turn around and fuck each other as if they didn’t just spend an hour arguing over everything from politics to their favorite television shows. Sophie was included in the rivalry and was riled right along with Nora and Rachel when she admitted she loved the True Blood series. Adrian’s continued polite indifference was actually welcomed tonight and helped make it easier for her to face him again after her uncharacteristic behavior last week, behavior that had led to her experiencing the most explosive climax she had ever had and left her aching for more.

When the pizza was gone and the conversation around the table changed to business, Rachel stood and announced, “You guys can find us in the solarium if you get bored talking shop.” Grabbing Nora and Sophie’s hands, she hauled them out of their chairs. “Come on, you two.”

Glad that the decision of whether or not to follow them after dinner was taken out of her hands, Sophie went willingly with Nora and Rachel, refusing to look back and see Adrian’s reaction. Other than to clean the bathrooms, Sophie hadn’t spent much time in the large, glass enclosed pool room but she admitted to being tempted to try out the pool on more than one occasion when she had worked up a sweat and the cool blue water looked inviting.

The room was kept at a balmy eighty-two degrees and Nora and Rachel wasted no time stripping down to nothing and diving in. Sophie watched them for a minute, trying to get up her nerve to join them. She had to admit, skinny dipping looked like fun and with the guys still in the kitchen it would be easier undressing without them watching. Even though she harbored no lustful thoughts about either woman, she couldn’t help but get turned on watching them embrace then sink underwater as they kissed, Nora’s slim, pale body wrapped around Rachel’s darker, fuller figure.

Sophie slipped off her clothes and dove into the deep end, the feel of the cool water against her bare skin giving her a startling jolt. Coming up for air, she pushed her hair back and treaded water as she watched Rachel push Nora back to recline against the steps then slide down between her spread legs. Sophie swam around, her body temperature adjusting to the water, the caress of the smooth water against her nipples and between her legs heightening her arousal as much as she found watching the other two women did.

“Hey, that’s my job,” Adam said as he and Ash entered the solarium. Striding over to the steps, a wicked grin splitting his face, Adam grabbed Nora and hauled her wet body against him, interrupting their play.

“Damn it, Adam, I was almost there!” Nora’s grin ruined her angry tirade and when Adam answered her by swatting her ass, leaving behind a bright red imprint on her white left buttock, Nora simply moaned and pressed against him.

“I suppose you just want to watch again,” Ash questioned Sophie as a very wet Rachel stepped from the pool and into his arms. When Sophie’s eyes went to the door, he added gently, “Adrian said he had work he had to do. He’s in his office.”

From what Sophie had gathered from the others, since Nicole’s death, Adrian seldom joined them and when he did it was for watching or oral sex only. Hearing he wouldn’t be joining them now, she was torn between being relieved she wouldn’t be faced with giving in to the urge to go to him again that had been plaguing her all week and hurt because he obviously wasn’t in any hurry for a repeat performance from her.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Sophie answered him and was surprised to find that answer to be true. As she watched the two couples move to side by side padded lounges, her neglected pussy clenched with the need for something more than her fingers tonight. Watching Ash pull hidden restraints from under the head of the lounge he had Rachel laid out on and secure her hands above her head before he took one full breast in his hand and brought the nipple up to his mouth only added fuel to a fire already building out of control.

Flipping around, Sophie dove underwater and swam the length of the pool. When she reached the opposite end, she came up for air with a gasp that was echoed by Nora who had just impaled her still damp, sleek body on Adam’s cock, her short hair slicked back from her attractive face, her hands cupping her breasts as she started to ride him. Adam looked up at her with a look that held more than fondness, one Nora missed since her eyes were closed. Apparently wanting her eyes on him, Adam smacked her still pink cheek, hard.

“Eyes on me, Nora,” he snapped.

The sound of that slap, the stern tone of his voice and the instant compliance from Nora all worked to send Sophie’s senses higher and higher. Cupping her own breasts under the water, she tweaked her nipples like she saw Ash do to Rachel’s, the harder pinch shooting pleasure straight down to her pussy, her sheath filling with moisture the water did little to wash away. As Ash thrust between Rachel’s legs, his engorged cock filling her with one deep stroke, Sophie slid her fingers between her legs, wishing she had something bigger, longer and harder filling her. She had been empty so long, alone so long, both her body and her mind craved more of a release than what she could give herself. She wanted the temporary oblivion Adrian had given her, a release that consumed her body and mind to the point of forgetting everything but the pleasure.

Her fingers delved and stroked, her free hand alternating between her nipples, and as both women cried out in climax, their bodies writhing against and on the hard cocks filling them, she pinched her clit to release her own climax while envisioning being filled and stretched by a hard cock, her pussy clamping around it as it did her fingers, her clit rubbing over its hard ridges back and forth as she came apart.

Sophie was just coming out of her fantasy when Nora and Rachel were dumped into the pool by the twins. “While they cool off, why don’t you let us take over for you, Sophie,” Adam said as both of them watched her from the side of the pool looking sexy as sin with their jeans fastened again but their chests and feet bare.

“Come on,” Ash coaxed as he bent and reached in to haul her out before she knew what he was going to do. “Aren’t you tired of just watching?” With his blue eyes on hers, he slowly reached out and cupped her breast, his large, calloused hand kneading the soft flesh in a way that had her arching against it.

As enticing as their offer was, Sophie was picturing herself with Adrian when she took that step, not his cousins, even though she found both men attractive and her body was having no trouble responding to them. “I don’t know if I’m ready for either of you. This is all very new to me,” she admitted, blushing because it was obvious her body was ready. It was just her mind that wasn’t on board with their suggestion.

“But your body likes the idea,” Adam said as he cupped her other breast.

Both of her nipples were stiff, beaded points and her pussy was so wet, she prayed the moisture seeping out would be credited to her overall wet state and not the heightened state of her arousal.

“Well, I can’t deny I’m wanting something more,” she admitted even though she could feel her face flaming with that acknowledgement.

The guys exchanged a knowing look before Ash said, “We know just the thing. Come here.”

Sophie cast a guilty look towards Nora, but both women just smiled and waved her on as they led her over to the large wood cabinet that filled the wall between the two bathrooms and that Sophie had assumed held towels and pool supplies. When Adam lowered a small, square, hip-high padded table and hoisted her onto it while Ash rummaged in a drawer, she discovered how wrong she was. “Uh, I take it this isn’t storage for towels and such?”

“That side is,” Adam said with a smirk pointing to the right. “On the other side we keep other toys to be used in here.”